2012 Toyota Yaris Reviews

2012 Toyota Yaris YR 1.3 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Do not purchase this poorly designed car

Faults:

Fact: The engine emits a high pitch frequency (like ringing in your ears - tinnitus, 2-3kHz pure narrow tone). This occurs at speeds of over 90km/hr and is extremely irritating. The noise leaves my ears ringing after a highway trip. I have recorded this sound with professional equipment and shown it to Toyota. After complaining to Toyota, they replied that this "condition" is normal in all Yaris model engines and would do nothing to fix it! (Toyota tested an identical model and it exhibited the same "condition"). I am still trying to get my money back on this car, as it only does half the job it was designed to do.

General Comments:

The glare that bounces off the dash onto the inside of the windscreen makes for very poor visibility in the early morning and late afternoons.

The new windscreen wiper design catches a lot of wind, making it sound like strong winds are buffeting the car.

The interior panels are poorly designed, and there are numerous rattles that come and go in the car.

15th Feb 2013, 10:51

It's a resonant frequency; sometimes its effect is a sound or a vibration. I remember a friend's 76 Golf; the engine would hit just the right vibration frequency to make the throttle return spring eat through its mounting like it was made of a soft metal.